- Justice of Chester
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The Justice of Chester was the chief judicial authority for the County Palatine of Chester, from the establishment of the county[1] until the abolition of the Great Sessions in Wales and the palatine judicature in 1830.[2]
Within the County Palatine (which encompassed Cheshire, the City of Chester, and Flintshire), the Justice enjoyed the jurisdiction possessed in England by the Court of Common Pleas and the King's Bench.[3] While the legal reorganization of Wales and the Marches under Henry VIII diminished the authority of the Earl of Chester (i.e., the Prince of Wales) in the County Palatine, the authority of the Justice was, in fact, increased. In 1542, the Great Sessions were established in Wales, that country being divided into four circuits of three shires each. Denbighshire, Flintshire, and Montgomeryshire were made part of the Chester circuit, over which the Justice presided. Under Elizabeth I, a second justice was added to each of the Welsh circuits[4], after which the senior and junior justice are generally referred to as the Chief Justice of Chester and the Second or Puisne Justice of Chester.
Because the Cheshire justices were free to practice as barristers in the English courts or sit in Parliament, the post of Chief Justice was often awarded as a form of patronage by the Government to aspiring lawyers. The offices of Chief and Puisne Justice were abolished in 1830, as part of reforms that also brought Wales under the jurisdiction of the courts at Westminster.
Contents
Justices of Chester
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This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
- Sir John Holland 1381–1385
- Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York 1385–1387
- Robert de Vere, Duke of Ireland 1387–1388
- Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester 1388–1391
- John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter 1391–1394
- Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk 1394–1398
- William le Scrope, 1st Earl of Wiltshire 1398–1399
- Henry Percy 1400–1403
- Gilbert Talbot, 5th Baron Talbot 1403–1419
- Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter 1420–1427
- Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester 1427–1440
- William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk 1440–1450
- Thomas Stanley, 1st Baron Stanley 1443–1459 (joint)
- John Talbot, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury 1459–1460
- Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby 1461–?
- Richard, Duke of Gloucester 1471–?
- Sir Thomas Englefield 1505–1514?
- Sir Nicholas Hare 1540–1545
- Sir Robert Townshend 1545–?
- Sir George Bromley 1564–1589
- Richard Shuttleworth 1589–1592
- Sir Richard Lewknor 1592–1616
Chief and Puisne Justices of Chester
Year Chief Justice Puisne Justice 1603 Sir Richard Lewknor Henry Townshend 1616 Sir Thomas Chamberlayne 1620 Sir James Whitelocke 1624 Sir Thomas Chamberlayne 1625 Sir John Bridgeman Marmaduke Lloyd 1636 Richard Prytherg 1638 Sir Thomas Milward 1648 John Bradshaw Peter Warburton 1649 Thomas Fell 1660 Timothy Turner 1661 Sir Geoffrey Palmer, Bt Robert Milward 1662 Sir Job Charlton 1674 George Johnson 1680 Sir George Jeffreys 1681 John Warren 1684 Sir Edward Herbert 1686 Sir Edward Lutwyche 1686 Sir Job Charlton 1689 Sir John Trenchard Lyttelton Powis 1690 John Coombe 1696 Salathiel Lovel 1697 Joseph Jekyll 1707 John Pocklington 1711 John Warde 1714 Edward Jeffreys 1717 Spencer Cowper 1726 John Willes 1729 Sir John Willes William Jessop 1734 John Verney Richard Pottinger 1738 Matthew Skinner 1740 John Talbot 1749 William Noel 1756 Taylor White 1762 John Morton 1771 John Skynner 1777 Francis Buller 1778 Daines Barrington 1780 Lloyd Kenyon 1784 Richard Pepper Arden 1788 Edward Bearcroft Francis Burton 1796 James Adair 1798 William Grant 1799 James Mansfield 1804 Vicary Gibbs 1804 Robert Dallas 1813 Richard Richards 1814 Sir William Garrow 1815 William Draper Best 1816 Samuel Marshall 1817 John Leach Thomas Jervis 1818 William Draper Best 1818 John Copley 1819 Charles Warren Offices abolished 1830
References
Bibliography
- Yates, Joseph Brooks. The Rights and Jurisdiction of the County Palatine of Chester, the Earls Palatine, the Chamberlain, and Other Officers. Charles Simms & Co.. http://books.google.com/books?id=_kcJAAAAIAAJ. Retrieved 2007-05-04.
- The Penny Cyclopedia of the Society for the Dissemination of Useful Knowledge, Volume XXVI. London: Charles Knight & Co.. http://books.google.com/books?id=xBaIRO2HP-UC. Retrieved 2007-05-04.
Categories:- English judges
- Judiciary of England and Wales
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